There’s a new X-plane in town. Bell Textron’s tilt-rotor aircraft being built for DARPA’s Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) program, which aims to combine the features of a helicopter and a jet, has officially been designated the X-76.
Launched in 1946 with the Bell X-1, the US X-Plane program is a series of aircraft, missiles and rockets built solely to develop advanced aerospace technology rather than production aircraft. Essentially, they are proof-of-concept platforms made in very small numbers that tolerate a higher risk factor than standard aerospace development.
Normally, the numbers assigned to X-planes are sequential, though exceptions are sometimes made for symbolic reasons. This is the case with the X-76, which was named in celebration of the upcoming 250th…
more
Source newatlas.com
Terms of use and third-party services. More here.